Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with reference to the Answer of 15 October 2019 to Question 748, what the timetable is for the establishment of an Office for Tackling Injustices; and if he will publish the structural and staffing arrangements for that Office.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We are considering how best to take forward the work of the Office for Tackling Injustices in the light of the new Government’s domestic priorities, and the urgent necessity to focus on the response to the Coronavirus crisis.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a list including the postcode locations of the public libraries that have closed between 2010 and the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Department does not commission specific information relating to the closure of public libraries. The Libraries Taskforce has collected and validated data relating to static libraries in each of the local authorities in England, which includes details of library closures and their post codes. This information covers the period 1 April 2010 and 1 July 2016 and the full dataset is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/673041/Public_libraries_in_England-_extended_basic_dataset__as_on_1_July_2016_.csv/preview
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress the Government has made on its assessment of the merits of establishing a Town of Culture award.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Creativity, arts and heritage make our towns and cities unique and our communities better places to live, and we should celebrate the rich local heritage and culture of towns across the UK.
We are committing departmental resources to supporting and celebrating towns through delivering a range of effective and targeted policy interventions. These include the Cultural Development Fund, Heritage Action Zones, and the Discover England Fund, as well as continued support to our arms-length bodies, such as Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, many of which do great work to support culture in towns.
We also believe that culture, as well as other sectors supported by DCMS have an important role to play in the development of local regeneration plans for towns that will be supported through the new multi-billion pound Towns Fund. The fund is at the heart of the Government’s commitment to leveling up our left behind places, to improve connectivity, provide vital social and cultural infrastructure, and boost growth. As we work with MHCLG to roll out the Towns Fund, we will consider the best way to highlight the great cultural offers many of our towns have, including whether and how this could build towards a potential Town of Culture competition.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contributions of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 23 January 2019, Official report, columns 209WH and 210WH, when he plans to (a) respond to the letter of 30 December 2018 from and (b) meet with hon. Members on establishing a Town of Culture Award.
Answered by Michael Ellis
A letter was sent to the Rt Hon Member on 21st February. As I stated in the letter, I am happy to meet with Members on this issue.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147813 on Museums and Galleries: Closures, if he will publish the (a) names and (b) postcode locations of the 29 museums which gained museum accreditation from Arts Council England in 2017-18.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The following 29 institutions gained full accreditation under the Museums Accreditation Scheme administered by Arts Council England in the twelve months between April 2017 and April 2018.
Museum | Postcode | ONS region | Museum | Postcode | ONS region | Museum | Postcode | ONS region | |||
1 | Winterbourne House and Gardens | Birmingham B15 2RT | West Midlands | 11 | Lutterworth & District Museum | Lutterworth LE17 4DY | East Midlands | 21 | Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre | Lifton PL16 0AT | South West |
2 | Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre | Newton Abbot TQ13 9GP | South West | 12 | No. 42 Market Place | Bishop Auckland DL14 7PB | North East | 22 | New Hall Art Collection at Murray Edwards College | Cambridge, CB3 0DF | East of England |
3 | Grampound with Creed Heritage Centre | Cornwall TR2 4QS | South West | 13 | Elliott's Store and Museum | Saltash PL12 6JQ | South West | 23 | Axminster Heritage Centre | Axminster EX13 5AH | South West |
4 | Whitchurch Silk Mill | Whitchurch RG28 7AL | South East | 14 | Corby Heritage Centre | Corby NN17 1UU | East Midlands | 24 | Dundee Museum of Transport | Dundee DD1 3LA | Scotland |
5 | Swannington Heritage Trust Museum | Leicestershire LE67 8QU | East Midlands | 15 | Powis Castle | Welshpool SY21 8RF | Wales | 25 | Iona Abbey Museum | Isle of Iona PA76 6SQ | Scotland |
6 | Museum of the Royal Regiment of Scotland | Edinburgh, EH1 2NG | Scotland | 16 | Westray Heritage Centre | Orkney KW17 2BZ | Scotla nd | 26 | Jedburgh Abbey Visitor Centre | Jedburgh TD8 6JQ | Scotland |
7 | Cowbridge & District Museum | Cowbridge CF71 7DD | Wales | 17 | The Scottish Crannog Centre | Aberfeldy PH15 2HY | Scotland | 27 | Britannia Museum | Dartmouth TQ6 0HJ | South West |
8 | Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre | Lincoln LN4 3WF | East Midlands | 18 | The Brickworks Museum, Bursledon | Southampton SO31 7HB | South East | 28 | The Hockey Museum | Woking GU21 6BL | South East |
9 | Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum | Newark NG22 8QY | East Midlands | 19 | Dunkirk Mill Museum | Nailsworth, GL5 5HH | South West | 29 | Weymouth Museum | Weymouth DT4 8TR | South West |
10 | Kingswood Heritage Museum | Bristol BS30 8XT | South West | 20 | Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum | Woodstock OX20 1SN | South East |
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147814, if he will publish the (a) names and (b) registered postcode locations of the 190 theatres and touring companies into which £100 million of public money is being invested over four years.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Data on which organisations Arts Council England fund is public information and can be found on their website here:
https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/national-portfolio-2018-22/more-data-2018-22
Arts Council England does not publish the postcode of organisations; however the area, Local Authority & parliamentary constituency are available.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcode location and (c) year of closure of the museums that closed between 2010 and 2018.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The department does not systematically collect data on museum closure across the country, given the devolved nature of culture policy, the breadth of operating models in the sector, and the differing measures by which both museums and closures are assessed.
The recently published Mendoza Review found a dynamic and resilient sector, with museums across England adapting and diversifying. Whilst a number of museums have undergone restructuring, with some ceasing operations in recent years, regular new openings, mergers and expansions point to the sector’s vibrancy: 29 new UK applicants gained museum accreditation from Arts Council England over the year 2017-18.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcode location and (c) year of closure of the theatres that closed between 2010 and 2018.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The government does not systematically collect data on theatre closures across the country due to the devolved nature of cultural policy and the breadth of operating models in the sector.
The government is committed to ensuring our world class theatre sector continues to thrive across the country and that is why Arts Council England is investing over £100 million of public money into 190 theatres and touring companies over four years.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 904216 on Public Libraries: Closures, if he will publish the (a) name and (b) location of the 110 libraries that closed between 2010 and 2016.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The full dataset was published on 11 January 2018 on the gov.uk website:
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 904216, in which constituencies the 110 libraries were that closed between 2010 and 2016.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The research undertaken by the Department that identified the approximate number of 110 static public libraries that closed completely from January 2010 - January 2016 does not record the closures by constituency.